Strong
by IzumiTheMoogle
Summary: Chopper doesn't think he is at all. As far as he's concerned, he's the weakest link... Well, Zoro has something to say about that. - Zoro/Chopper Nakamaship- Rated T for Zoro's mouth XP


"Sanji! Food! Food!" Luffy's choruses were heard throughout the Sunny. No matter where you were, you would hear the Captain's jovial voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sanji replied in an annoyed fashion, rolling his eyes slightly. Of course, he wasn't complaining about cooking. It was the young boy jumping up and down on the grassy deck below him that was aggravating. But he supposed it couldn't be helped. This WAS Luffy. He demanded food after every major battle. (Major or minor, really)

And this had been quite a run in with the Marines.

Five ships had surrounded them in what seemed like seconds. Of course, with the nine StrawHats, it wasn't too much of a problem. But today there had been tons of men on each ship. Much more of a problem to deal with.

Chopper ran around frantically on deck, double-checking everyone to make sure that he didn't miss any injuries. He closely inspected a bandage on Usopp's arm that he had just tied; making sure that it wasn't too tight or too loose.

"Those bastards…" Franky's low grumbling could be heard from the railing as he leaned over, inspecting the side of the Sunny intimately, "Puttin' a hole in Sunny's side with their crappy cannons…" He mumbled some more, going down below deck to check on the more vital parts of the ship.

Chopper was glad that he usually didn't have to worry too much about the Cyborg. Since his entire front side was bullet-proof (coupled with the fact that he had guns in his arms), the doctor rarely had to patch him up. He was glad for that.

Nami sighed, wiping some leftover sweat from her brow and unhooking her Clima Tact, "Man, there sure were a lot of them today, weren't there?"

"I was disappointed…" Zoro grunted from his cross-legged position on the Sunny's deck. Chopper was currently fussing over him, "There may have been more of them than usual, but their skill was still nothing special…" He made an almost pouting noise that would've been pouting if it weren't Zoro.

Nami eyed him suspiciously, "Yeah… If they weren't all that great, why is Chopper checking you over so anxiously?"

Zoro shrugged, "Just what he does."

"You always get injured the most, Zoro," Chopper protested as finished his examination. No broken bones, no excessive bleeding, whew… "I have to take special measures with you."

Zoro half-scoffed. Brooke piped up after taking a sip of tea, "I have noticed that you tend to sustain the more serious injuries amongst the crew, Zoro-san. Why is that?"

"He's a reckless idiot," Nami muttered simply, earning a glare from the swordsman in question.

"I happen to _like _fighting," Zoro said carefully, slowly tearing his glare away from Nami, "It's exciting for me."

"So then I guess it's just ironic that you end up fighting one or some of the more powerful enemies in fights," Usopp stated, rotating his wrist a little.

Robin giggled, smiling from a chair on the deck. As usual, the fight hadn't fazed her much, "That is true, isn't it Swordsman-san? Aside from Captain-san, you tend to fight the most powerful opponents whenever we're faced with problems."

Zoro grunted, shrugged, and leaned back against the mast, almost squishing Chopper in the process. The doctor managed to wriggle his way out before he was smashed against the mast, gasping a little for breath.

He was going to chastise the swordsman for almost killing him when he was interrupted by the man who looked like he was about to take a nap: "Well, my ambition is to be the world's greatest swordsman… It wouldn't make much sense for me to fight weaklings, would it?"

"Guess not…" Usopp said, rubbing the back of his head, "But you do overdo it a little sometimes, Zoro. You've gotta at least admit that."

"Do not."

"Oh yeah?" Nami raised an eyebrow, "What about that time back on Little Garden when you tried to cut your own legs off so you could escape from the wax??"

"WHAT?!" Chopper yelled frantically, whipping his head over in Zoro's direction. The man didn't look concerned in the least. Mildly annoyed maybe, but not concerned.

"I've told you a thousand times, Nami. I was going to cut them off so I could _fight, _not escape."

"Which makes even less sense," Nami shook her head like she'd said this a million times before, which she had.

Chopper's gaze went down to Zoro's ankles. He had wondered why there were stitches there! He always thought it was some training accident! But God, the man tried to cut his own legs off! And nobody else seemed to share in his concern! Brooke just looked on with awe!!

"H… How gallant of you, Zoro-san!!" The skeleton beamed.

Zoro shrugged again, "I didn't get all the way through 'em. Luffy came in right when I was about to."

"Come on," Franky's voice could be heard as he walked back up on deck, "Quit kiddin' around, Zoro. You seriously were going to cut your own legs off?"

"Yeah," The swordsman replied simply. Franky eyed him suspiciously for a moment before Usopp chimed in:

"Is it really that hard to believe that Zoro would try and cut his own legs off, Franky?"

"..." The Cyborg paused for a moment, glanced at the green-haired man on deck, and then let out some air in a tiny huff, tapping his shades back down over his eyes, "You're right; it actually doesn't sound that unbelievable."

"Whoa, you were gonna cut your legs off Zoro?" Luffy called from the Sunny's upper railing with a laugh in his voice after being shooed away from the kitchen by Sanji. He hopped down to deck and put both hands over his stomach as a giggling fit took over: "Shishishishi! That's so stupid! Why would you do that?"

"Shut up!" Zoro growled fiercely, "It was the only option we had at the time."

"We?" Nami repeated, "I don't remember ever wanting to go along with your crazy plan."

"_You_ didn't," Zoro continued, acting like she was the one who made the ridiculous choice, "You couldn't even stand the sight of a _little_ blood."

Nami glared down at him, "That was not a 'little' blood! It was pouring all over the wax! Quite frankly, it was gross."

Chopper whipped his head around to the swordsman worriedly, biting his lower lip and looking down at the man's feet. His actual ankles were covered by dark boots, but Chopper could see the stitches in his head.

"Zoro, who stitched up your feet?" The Doctor asked urgently.

Zoro looked at him quizzically, "Huh? ...Vivi, I think. Why?"

The reindeer looked down at his Nakama's feet again for a moment with a serious expression on his face and then looked back up at him, "I'm going to have to take a look at the stitching."

Zoro sputtered, sitting up and gazing down at the furry creature unhappily, "What?? Why? It's fine!"

"Yeah, Vivi seemed to do a fine job," Nami said, agreeing with Zoro for the first time the entire conversation, "I was sick, and none of the others at the time knew anything about stitching up wounds like _that_," She motioned to Zoro's feet

Chopper remained steadfast, "I'm sure she did. And I'm glad she was there to take care of things, but I need to make sure that the stitches won't come undone."

"Do you know how long it's been since I got them?" Zoro asked angrily, raising an eyebrow at Chopper, "There's no way they'd come undone _now!_"

"You don't know that!" Chopper insisted, "I realize that they were done a long time ago, but since they weren't done by an actual doctor, I have to look at them!"

Zoro scowled, "… Now?"

Chopper frowned back at him, "Yes."

The two had an intense staring contest of sorts for a few moments before Zoro let some air out in a huff and stood up from his spot on the deck, stretching. He knew this was a war he was _never _going to win; no matter how many times they fought it.

Chopper smiled, proud of himself for actually being able to slowly make the swordsman's defenses crumble.

"Oh come on Zoro, it can't be that bad," Nami said, shaking her head at him as he got up.

"It's not," He admitted- albeit defensively, "Just annoying as hell."

"It'll be over soon, Zoro," The Doctor almost seemed upset, "It's for your own good, anyway!"

"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered, following his Nakama as he slowly walked up the Sunny's flight of stairs to get to the Medical Bay.

This wasn't really as much of a big deal to the rest of the crew as it was to Zoro. The others on the deck had quickly transitioned to lively chatter after he and Chopper had left, like they always did. It wasn't anything new, anyway. Chopper was always fussing over wounds that Zoro usually deemed unimportant, even if they were life threatening.

"Your boots," Chopper said sternly once he and Zoro were in the room. The swordsman had casually plopped himself on the bed, pulling off his boots in mild annoyance and taking a look at the faded scars around his ankles before setting his feet on the floor.

Chopper quickly grabbed his blue medical bag from his desk and squatted down in front of his Nakama, glancing over his ankles professionally and then eventually looking up at the swordsman in question.

"Just like I thought," He said anxiously, earning a confused glance from his green-haired friend, "Both of your ankles… The scars around them are infected. It's pretty severe too.

The concern on the Doctor's face certainly wasn't reflected in Zoro's. The man looked almost completely uninterested, holding his chin with a palm, "So… You can fix it, right?"

Chopper huffed, "_Of course. He's not concerned about the who, what, when why, where, and how…Just if I can 'fix it'. Typical Zoro. _Yes, I can fix it. I am this ship's Doctor, after all."

"Okay, so then what's the problem? What's with that expression?" Zoro asked nonchalantly.

"This isn't a minor case, Zoro!" Chopper flailed around a little, "Do you know what would have happened if you'd waited any longer to tell me about this?! I would have had to _amputate your legs_!"

Zoro chuckled a little, much to the surprise of the frantic reindeer, "Haha, wow. Kinda ironic, considering that's what I was trying to do in the first place, huh?"

A fat drop of sweat rolled down Chopper's face. There was no hope for this man. Zoro scrutinized him again, the smirk vanishing from his face.

"Look, it's not like its come to that, right? You don't have to amputate my legs, so why are you freaking out so bad?"

The Doctor sighed. He wondered if he had any of those migraine pills left… "I'm upset because it had to get this far! You mean to tell me that you never felt any pain or anything?? Look, the scar's obviously red and swollen! Clear signs of infection!"

Zoro shrugged, "Pain? No. Honestly, I forget about the stitches a lot."

_Of course he didn't feel any pain. This is Zoro we're talking about…_

The reindeer shook his head, "Well, I'm going to need to cut the stitching back open in a few areas."

"What?" Zoro instantly seemed alert when the thought of needles entered his head, "Why??"

Chopper looked a little confused that he seemed so agitated suddenly, "Because it's very infected! This is the quickest way to get the infection out."

Zoro scowled, "… Fine…"

Chopper looked at him curiously, "Do you… Not like needles, Zoro?"

The swordsman sighed, "Actually, no... No, I don't. I despise them, in fact."

He cocked his head to the side confusedly, "Why?"

Zoro looked taken aback, "I dunno… I just… Do. Isn't it normal for some people not to like getting themselves cut open?"

Chopper laughed despite himself, "Uh Zoro, you of all people-"

"Shut up! You know what I mean!" He interrupted heatedly, feeling his cheeks go a little red, "And why are you so curious about this anyway??"

Chopper shrugged, still smiling. He walked over to his desk to rummage through drawers, making sure he had everything he needed in his bag, "I dunno. It just seems so weird for a person as strong as you to be afraid of a needle. You're honestly the last person I'd expect to have that phobia."

Zoro sneered a little. He didn't like hearing his name and 'afraid' in the same sentence, "Hey, I don't--"

"I mean, I honestly never thought of any of you guys- you, Luffy, Sanji, Franky, Brooke, Robin, even Nami and Usopp- to have any sort of… Irrational fear…" Suddenly the reindeer seemed sad, "Like I do."

Zoro suddenly looked curious, "… Like what?"

"I'm…" He was nervous about admitting this, though he was pretty sure it was obvious, "I'm very irrationally scared for you guys during fights… I'm always positive that the very worst will happen, and then nothing _does_ happen. And everyone else is never afraid of that worst case scenario…" He tugged on his hat a little, feeling a lump in his throat, "Just me."

Zoro's expression softened as he thought back. He was always the one going out and getting himself beat up, and though he never thought anything of his wounds before…

"_You always get injured the most Zoro… I need to take special measures with you."_

… He suddenly felt a sharp pang of guilt for it. A lot of Chopper's worries probably came from him, and that made his stomach lurch uncomfortably.

"… How is that an irrational fear?" The swordsman finally said, breaking the silence. Chopper turned around confusedly, swallowing down again, "You're a Doctor, aren't you? The fact that you're worried about everyone else getting hurt isn't bad; it's just natural… Right?"

The reindeer looked down at his feet awkwardly, "W-Well, I… I guess I--"

"I mean, someone has to look out for us around here," Zoro continued, "If it were up to Luffy, every person's injuries could be healed if they ate some meat."

Chopper giggled a little, wiping at his eyes even though they had no visible tears in them, "Y-Yeah, that's true…" He looked back up at his Nakama with an unsure gaze, "But… During fights… I'm not nearly s strong as monsters like you, Luffy, and Sanji… I don't compare at all…Plus I'm only worth fifty berries…" He added under his breath.

Zoro scoffed, "What do the Marines know?" Chopper looked at him confusedly again, "Chopper, you're strong too. We all know you are. You're strong in ways that Luffy, the cook and I aren't at all."

"… I am?" Chopper almost looked up at him in awe.

"Sure," Zoro shrugged, "I don't know a damn thing about medicine. And I'm sure Luffy and the cook don't either," Chopper still looked confused. Zoro rubbed the back of his head nervously, "What I'm trying to say is you're way smarter than us. At least me. I've never been good at math or anything like that. Fighting's my thing."

Chopper almost looked disbelieving, "B-But how does knowing about medicine…?"

He shrugged again, leaning against the wall and folding his arms behind his head, "Well, you're doing something that I could never do."

Chopper looked shocked, "What?? I am?? W-What could--?"

"You're a Doctor," Zoro offered simply, "I could never even try to be a Doctor," He chuckled, "Believe it or not, I don't think I could stomach cutting people open like _that. _Gives me the creeps.Always kind of admired those who could, though."

Chopper's mouth fell open, "Really??"

Zoro nodded, "Yup. No kiddin'," He smiled down at Chopper, "So don't ever think you're not strong enough. You're an important member of this crew, Chopper. Remember that."

The Doctor nodded happily, "'Kay!" He smiled back at his green-haired friend, "Thank you, Zoro."

"Don't mention it," Suddenly he seemed to remember something and sat back up again, "But uh… Could you not mention the whole 'needle' thing outside of this room? That damn love cook will never let me hear the end of it if he finds out."

Chopper giggled, "Okay, I won't. It'll be our secret!" Zoro exhaled a little. Chopper suddenly put his serious face back on, "But I still have to cut open your stitching."

The swordsman groaned painfully, "Why can't you just administer some… Some… Medication or something?!"

"I told you; this is the quickest way!!"

"At whose expense?!"

"I'm sorry Zoro, but I—hey, sit back down! Don't make me go into Heavy Point, damn it!!"

Nami glanced at the Medical Bay door warily as she heard a series of booms, crashes and angry yells coming from the inside. She shook her head, turning to Robin:

"Do you hear them up there? Jeez, what a fuss!"

Robin giggled, turning the page of a book she had just gotten, "It's just their way of doing things, isn't it Navigator-san?"

"Maybe…" Nami agreed hesitantly, "But man, you could practically see the sparks fly when they went up there! Zoro should really try being nicer to Chopper."

~OWARI

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, okay… I know what you're thinking! I know that I have other projects that I should be focusing on right now, (several, in fact) but… But… My weakness for Zoro/Chopper Nakamaship ALWAYS gets the best of me! Seriously! Whenever I get an idea for a Zoro/Chopper fluff-ish story, I**_** have**_** to write it. O.O Cursed plot bunny… **

**In other news, there were a few lines in the story that I thought I should clarify with you guys just so that there is no confusion…**

"_..Vivi, I think. Why?" _

**This one-shot made me rack my brain, truthfully, trying to remember back to the Little Garden arc… But, luckily, FUNImation just got past that arc in their boxed sets, (which I buy whenever they come out; they're amazing XP) so I was able to watch it and look for evidence of that statement up there… But now I'm not so sure…**

**In the beginning of the Drum Island arc, it shows Zoro with newly stitched feet, being very happy about starting his 'mid-winter swimming/training'. (Or whatever he called it XD) I always thought that Vivi stitched up his feet for him because she seemed to be the only one who knew anything at all about medicine at the time. But then again… She was quite busy looking after Nami, and it never actually shows her fixing Zoro's feet for him….**

**You see my dilemma. **

**But I could honestly not picture Zoro stitching up his own feet… O.o For some reason it just doesn't seem like something he'd do… But I could be wrong. After all, he's been in tons of fights where he's probably had to patch himself up. But whatever! Just wanted to clear up my confliction! **

**For the sake of this one-shot, let's just say that Vivi was the one who stitched Zoro's feet. **

"_Actually, no… No I don't. I despise them, in fact." _

**I always thought it would be really ironic and funny if Zoro were afraid of needles. XP It seems, to me, like a very unexpected but possible fear for him. I mean, think about it! Has Chopper ever actually had to cut Zoro open?? (Stitching doesn't count XP) It's never addressed, so I wanted to throw it in here just for the halibut. Plus it made a good segue into Chopper's feelings about his own (for lack of a better word) issues. And it was surprisingly fun to write about to boot! Zoro's able to cut people up ONLY if it's with a sword. **

**Anywho! I hope you all enjoy this little piece of random Nakamaship fluff! (I do love it so) Take care! :] **


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